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©utiine S>tutip of 
Ancient l^tstorp 



Maud Elma Kingsley. a. m. 



The Palmer Company 

BOSTON 



Outline of 
Ancient History 



Outline of 

Ancient History 

by Maud Elma Kingslcy 



Copyright. 1911. by 

The Palmer Company 

Boston 



The Palmer Company, Publishers 
t20 Boylston Street, Boston 






PRESS OF 

NEWCOMB:& GAUSS 

SALEM, MASS. 



CCI.A280338 



^ 



Outline Study of Ancient 
History. 



A. PRELIMINARY WORK. 

L DEFINITION OF ''HISTORY''* 

Note 1. HISTORY is the record of human endeavor and 
achievement. Events in which men have not been con- 
cerned do not make '* History." 

IL DEFINITION OF "CIVILIZATION/' 

Note 2. CIVILIZATION may be defined as that condition 
of human life in which man relies on his intellectual 
faculties for the gratification of his desires, rather than 
on physical strength or animal cunning. 

Relation Between History and Civilization* 

Note 3. There can be no history without civilization, because 
the endeavor and achievement of which history is the 
record originate in intellectual ideas; but much civiliza- 
tion has existed, which, for one reason or another, has 
left no history; consequently, history cannot be regard- 
ed as, in any sense, a complete record of civilization. 

in. RAGES OF MANKIND-ETHNOLOGY* 

Note 4. In the study of " History ", it is necessary to notice 
the differences in physical appearance, language, and 
culture which exist between the inhabitants of different 
parts of the earth. This branch of study is known as 
ETHNOLOGY. 

For purposes of historical study, the human race may be 
divided into five races: 



2 Ancient History 

1. The White or CAUCASIAN Race. 

a. Families of the Caucasian Race. 

(1). The HAMITIC or North African Family. 

(2). The SEMITIC or Syro Arabian Family. 

(3). The ARYAN or Indo European Family. 
Note 5. The history of that form of civilization which is 

now- predominant throughout the world is the history of 

the White or Caucasian Race. 

2. The Yellow or MONGOLIAN Race* 

3. The Black Of NEGRO Race. 

4. The Brown or MALAY Race. 

5. The Red or NORTH AMERICAN Race. 

IV. PREHISTORIC TIMES. 

Note 6. The time during which the human race has existed 
on the earth may be divided into two periods: — (1) the 
Prehistoric period, of which we have no history what- 
ever. (2) the Historic period, of which some historic 
record, however fragmentary, exists. 

1. Source of lafortnatioa Regarding Prehistoric Time — ARCHAE- 

OLOGY. 

Note 7. All knowledge of this period is based on the study 
of human remains and of objects connected with human 
life which have been accidentally preserved. This study 
is known as ARCHAEOLOGY. 

2. The Three Stages of Prelilstoric Time. 

Note 8. Archaeologists have been able to trace in Europe 
and Western Asia a progressive improvement in the con- 
ditions of human life. Hence they divide this period 
into three stages : 
a. The STONE AGE. {Characterized by implements of stone 
and hone). 
(1). PALEOLITHIC AGE. {Rudely made implements of 
flint ; men lived in caves ; no signs of domesticated 
plants or animals). 



Outline Study of Ancient History 3 

(2). NEOLITHIC AGE. (Polished implements; men 
lived in huts; domesticated animals and cultivated 
plants). 

b. The BRONZE AGE. {Characterized by implements of 

copper alloyed with other easily worked metals). 

c. The IRON AGE. {Characterized by implements of iron). 

V. THE HISTORIC PERIOD. 
J. The History of Ancient Civilization, B. C. 5000— B. C. 500. 

2. The History of Greek and Roman Civilization, B, C. 500— 

A. D. 500. 

3. The History of Modern Qvilization, A. D. 500— Present Time. 

Note 9. The HISTORIC PERIOD begins with the earliest 
traces of historic record which can be followed consecu- 
tively to the present day. Documents constituting such 
record which are believed to date from before 5000 B. C. 
have been found in Egypt and Babylonia. 

Of the earliest ages, historic record is but fragment- 
ary, and includes only a very small fraction of the hu- 
man race; as it progresses, it becomes more nearly 
complete and inclusive : but it is for only a few recent 
centuries that HISTORY can claim to be a complete 
record of human life throughout the earth. 

Note 10. An '-'■ Historic Becord'''' is a document of any na- 
ture which can be made to connect the time in which it was 
produced with the present time. 

B. THE HISTORY OF ANCIENT CIVILIZATION. 

(B. C. 5000— B. C. 500). 

Note 11. The History of Ancient Civilization is for us the 
history of the ancient EGYPTIANS, the ASSYRIANS, 
the BABYLONIANS, and the HEBREWS; because no 
other peoples have left records from which a consecutive 
story of their national life can be made out. 



Ancient History 

L GEOGRAPHY. 

Portion of the Earth Occupied by the Peoples whose Records 0)q- 
stitute Ancient History. 

a. That part of Asia which is west of the Iranian Plateau, 
south of the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea, and north 
of the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea, together with the 
north-eastern corner of the African continent and the 
islands and European coasts of the Aegean Sea. 
(1). Leading Geographical Features of this Region, 
(a). Localities which in name and position are identi- 
cal with those of modern Geography. 
a^ Mediterranean Sea, Bed Sea or Arabian Gulf, 
Persian Gulf, Nile River, Tigris and Euphrates 
Bivers. 
(b). Localities whoso names are either unknown to 
modern Geography or are used in a somewhat 
different sense. 
a^ The Aegean Sea. between Asia Minor and Greece, 
b* Egypt, the valley of the Nile to the first cataract 

(-See Note 13.) 
c^ Libya, the African coast west of Egypt. 
d^ Sinai, between the two northern arms of the Red 

Sea. 
e' Syria, between the Euphrates River and the Med- 
iterranean Sea. 
f^ Palestine, the southwestern corner of Syria, 
g^ Phoenicia, the Syrian coast, 
h^ Mesopotamia, between the Euphrates and the 

Tigris River. 

i^ Babylonia or Chaldaea, between the lower Tigris 

and the lower Euphrates, where the two rivers 

approach so closely as to be connected by canals. 

j^ Elam, north of the Persian Gulf and east of the 

Tigris River, 
k^ Assyria, originally a district on the upper Tigris; 
later, it included all Mesopotamia and Babylonia. 
P Persia^ northeast of the Persian Gulf. 



Outline Study of Ancient History 5 

m^ Media, the plateau region north of Persia and 

Elam. 
n^ Armenia or Ararat^ the mountain region north of 

the source of the Tigris and Euphrates, 
o^ Cilicia, Phrygia, Lydia, eastern, central, and 

western Asia Minor. 

n. ANCIENT EGYPT. 
Geography of the Region^ 

a. The NILE. 

Note 12. Practically no rain falls in Egypt, hence the soil 
depends for its fertility wholly upon the river Nile. This 
river is formed, about latitude sixteen degrees north, by 
the junction of two streams, known respectively as the 
White Nile and the Blue Nile. The White Nile drains a 
vast region in Equatorial Africa where the rainfall is 
heavy and constant; the Blue Nile drains the highland of 
Abyssinia, a region of winter snow and torrential spring 
rains. The Spring freshet of the Blue Nile, added to the 
always copious stream of the White Nile, produces a 
flood which, in the Autumn months, inundates the entire 
valley below the first cataract. This flood, (which not 
only irrigates the land, but fertilizes it as well), when 
properly controlled by canals and reservoirs, suffices for 
the support of vegetation throughout the year. 

b. EGYPT. {The valley of the Nile to the first cataract). 
Note 13. The CATARACTS of the Nile are stretches of 

rock and quick water, usually numbered from the first, 
at Latitude twenty-four degrees, to the sixth, above lat- 
itude seventeen degrees. 
(1). Topographical Divisions. 

(a). UPPER EGYPT, from the first Cataract to the point 

at whi«h the Nile divides and flows to the sea through 

two (in former times, seven) channels. 

Note 14. These two branches of the Nile are known in 

modern Geography as the DAMIETTA MOUTH (the 

eastern), and the ROSETTA MOUTH (the western); but 

these rivers were unknown to ancient Egypt. 



6 Ancient History 

(b). LOWER EGYPT, the region between the easternmost 
and westernmost mouths of the Nile, — the coast up to 
and including Memphis. 

c. LYBIA, SINAI, SYRIA, PALESTINE, PHOENICIA— 
Study B, 1(a). 

d. ETHIOPIA or NUBIA, the Nile valley above the first 
cataract. 

e. ARABIA, the desert southeast of Syria. 

f . ARABIAN DESERT, the desert east of the Nile. 

g. LIBYAN DESERT, the desert west of the Nile. 

h. The FAYUM, an oasis in the Libyan desert, connected 
with the Nile by canals. 

i. The RIVER JORDAN, the river of Palestine, flowing 
into the Dead Sea. 

j. LEBANON, a range of mountains separating Phoenicia 
from the interior of Syria. 

k. The RIVER ORONTES, the river of Syria, draining the 
eastern slope of Lebanon. 

Note 15. Influence of EgypVs Geographical Position upon its 
History. — Separated from Asia and Africa by vast deserts 
and from Europe by the sea, Egypt was difficult of ac- 
cess to an invading army and was practically safe from 
raids of wandering barbarians. 

2. The Inhabitants of the Region* 

a. The Egyptians. 
(1). Race. 

(a). The Hamitic or North African branch of the Caucasian 
race, with a large infusion of the Semitic branch of the 
same race and a slight trace of negro blood, 
(2). Physical Characteristics. 

(a). Medium height, sinewy frame, oval face, black eyes, 
crisp black hair, skin varying in color from deep 
brown to light olive. 

b. Neighboring Peoples. 
(1). To the South. 

(a). The ETHIOPIANS or NUBIANS (of Hamitic race, 
with a strong admixture of negro blood). 



Outline Study of Ancient History 7 

(2). To the West. 

(a). The LIBYANS {of Hamitic race mixed with elements 
derived from the negro race and from the Aryans of 
Europe and Asia Minor. 
(3). To the North, across the Mediterranean Sea. 

(a). The Aryan peoples of Europe and Asia Minor. 
(4). To the East in Arabia, Sinai, Palestine, and Syria, 
(a). Various peoples of the Semitic race. 

3. Prehistoric Egypt. {Before 3400 B. C). 

a. The Beginning and Earliest Development of Egyptian Civ- 

ilization. 

Note 16. Of this process there is no trace. The earliest re- 
mains — rock pictures, carvings, pottery, and ornaments 
— indicate a civilization already strong and pervasive. 
No inscriptions survive from this period, though possibly 
a system of picture writing existed. 

b. Dated Event of this Period. 

(1). The institutioi^ of the Egyptian Calendar, astronomi- 
cally fixed at about 4250 B. C. 
Note 17. This invention indicates a considerable degree of 
civilization. 

4. The History of Ancient Egypt. 

Note 18. Sources of Knowledge of Egyptian History ,— These 
are (1), inscriptions on the walls of temples and on 
obelisks, biographical sketches on tombs and on papyrus 
rolls deposited with the dead, inscribed bricks of Syrian 
and Babylonian origin, etc. The information derived 
from this source, though authentic, is, necessarily, 
most fragmentary. (2) The list of Egyptian kings which 
originally formed part of an Egyptian history written 
by Manetho, an Egyptian priest, in the last days of 
Egyptian civilization; (3), the Greek and Hebrew 
historians . ( The works of these historians are of positive 
value only for the latest period of Egyptian history.) 

Note 19. Chronology. — There are no positively fixed dates in 
Egyptian history before 1000 B. C. Notices of astronom- 



Ancient History 

ical phenomena in the inscriptions, and the frequent 
mention of the length of a king's reign or of the dura- 
tion of a dynasty afford the data from which an approxi- 
mate chronology for early Egyptian history has been 
constructed. 

THE OLD KINGDOM, 3400 B. C— 2200 B. C. 
(1). Political History, 
(a). The period begins with the union of the entire Nile 
valley, from the first cataract to the sea, under one 
system of government, and ends with the breaking up of 
the kingdom into separate provinces, ruled by hereditary 
governors. 
(2). The Seat of Government, 
(a). Thrnis or Abydos in Upper Egypt, during the early 

dynasties, 
(b). Memphis, on the boundary line between Upper and 
Lower Egypt. 

Note 20. It is at Memphis that the most splendid monu- 
ments of the age are located. 

(3). Civilization. 

Note 21. In this period, Egyptian civilization reached the 
height at which it ever after remained practically sta- 
tionary. 

(a). The system of writing was elaborated. 

(b). The rules of art and architecture were laid down. 

(c). The principles of religion were established. 

(4). Events of the Period. 

(a). The building of the great PYRAMIDS at Gizeh, near 

Memphis, 2900 B. C— 2700 B. C. ^' ^ ■ ,^ ' 
(b). Expedition to Phoenicia, 2750 B. C. 
(c.) Expedition to Sinai, 2600 B. C. 
(d). Expedition to Nubia, 2600 B. C. 
(e). Commerce with inner Africa, Lebanon, and the 

Aegean established, after 2600 B. C. 



Outline Study of Ancient History 9 

b. THE MIDDLE KINGDOM, 2200 B. C— 1600 B. C. 
(1). Political History, 
(a). This period begins with the reestablishment of the 
royal power in the form of a feudal sovereignty over 
hereditary princes, each of whom was a petty king 
in his own domain, 
(b). The period ends with a general decline of Egyptian 
institutions and the subjection of Egypt to foreign 
domination. 
<2). The Seat of Government. 

(a). Ithtowe (now Lisht), about twenty-five miles south of 
Memphis. 
<3). Events of the Period. 

(a). The canal connecting the Nile with the Red Sea was 

built 2000 B. C. 
{b). Canal built around the first cataract; subjugation of 

Nubia, 1850 B. C. 
(c).^ Egyptian dominion established in southern Palestine, 

1850 B. C. 
(d). The Fayum region {See B-h) connected with the Nile 
irrigation system; construction of Lake Moeris and 
the Labyrinth, 1800 B. C. 
(e). Invasion of the HYKSOS. 
JSfote 22. From 1800 B. C— 1600 B. C, the history of Egypt 
is almost a blank so far as contemporary documents are 
concerned. From the record of later times, it is known 
that during the greater part of these two centuries Egypt 
was subject to the domination of kings of foreign race, 
known as the HYKSOS or " ShepJierds,'^ who came in 
from the north, devastated the country, and made them- 
selves its rulers. They are supposed to have been Sem- 
ites of Syria or Arabia. 
(4). Civilization. 

(a). Not a period of great achievement, but of steady com- 
mercial and industrial development, 
(b). The feudal system in the hands of patriotic kings 
and vassals insured a share of prosperity to every 
province of the kingdom. 



10 Ancient History 

(c). The system of the control of the Nile water was per- 
^^ fected. 

(d). Building operations, though not conducted on so 
large a scale as in other eras, were more widespread. 

(e). Art flourished; literature reached its highest devel- 
opment. 

c. THE IMPERIAL PERIOD, 1600 B. C— 1100 B. C. 

(1). ^Political History. 
(a). This period begins 
a^ With the expulsion of the Hyksos by a national up- 
rising headed by the princes of Thebes in Upper 
Egypt. 
b^ With the reorganization of the kingdom as a military 
empire, under these princes, 
(b). The period ends with the decay of the empire after 
it had exhausted the energy and vitality of the na- 
tion, 
(c). The Kings. 

Note 23. In the first half of this period, most of the kings 
bore the names of THOTHMES and AMENHOTEP ; in 
the last half, the name of RAMSES or RAMESES is 
most common. The embalmed bodies {mummies) of 
almost all of the great kings of this period have been 
found and are now preserved in the Egyptian museum at 
Cairo. 

(2). Seat of Government. 

(a). THEBES. 

Note 24. THEBES was the capital of Egypt at the height of 
her power and glory, and was the largest and most splen- 
did city known to the ancient world. 

(3). Events of the Period, 
(a). Expulsion of the Hyksos, before 1575 B. C. 
(b). Conquest of Ethiopia, 1500 B. C. 
(c). Glorious and prosperous reign of Queen Hatshepat 
1475 B. C. 



Outline Study of Ancient History 11 

(d). THOTHMES III., the first great emperor of history, 
a^ Thothmes extends his empire from the first cata- 
ract of the Nile to the Euphrates in northern Syria, 
1450 B. C. 
(e). Reign of AMENHOTEP III. 

a^ Glory of the Egyptian Empire; splendid buildings 
and enormous wealth at Thebes; CYPRUS added 
to the empire; Egyptian influence felt on the shores 
of the Aegean Sea.— 1400 B. C. 
(f). Reign of AMENHOTEP IV. 

a^ Revolts from the religious establishment and 

founds a new religion based on the worship of one 

impersonal God. 

b\ This revolt causes (1) temporary paralysis of the 

empire ; (2) loss of Palestine and Syria, 1300 B. C. 

(g). Restoration of the national religion by a new dynasty, 

1300 B. C. 
(h). Reign of RAMESES II. 
a^ Wars in Syria, 1225 B. C. 

Note 25. The lost provinces were not restored to Egypt. 

b^ Overthrow of the imperial system; the Priests of 
Thebes rule Upper Egypt, 1100 B. C. 

Note 26. The downfall of the Egyptian empire was practi- 
cally contemporaneous with the establishment of the 
Kingdom of Israel by Saul and David and with the move- 
ment known in Greek History as the Dorian Migrations. 
This period was, consequently, for the Hebrews and 
Greeks, the earliest dawn of history. These new and 
rude nations knew nothing of Egypt but its decline and 
decay, but even decadent Egypt so impressed the minds 
of Hebrew and Greek poets and historians that it stood 
to them as a type of all tha^ was solidly grand and mag- 
nificent. 

(4). Civilization of the Period. 

Note 27. This was a period of outward splendor and pros- 
perity. The kings celebrated their victories abroad by 



12 Ancient History 

the erection of the most magnificent buildings and lofty 
obelisks; art and literature flourished; life at the court 
and among the nobility reached the height of refinement 
and luxury. The life blood of the natiou, however, was 
drained by foreign wars, and the commercial initiative 
and energy which had hitherto characterized the Egyp- 
tian people was crushed out by despotism and by an op- 
pressive religious establishment. 

d. PERIOD OF DECAY, 1100 B. C— 525 B. C. 
(1). Political history, 
(a). This period begins with the loss of Egypt's foreign 
provinces and ends with the extinction of Egyptian 
nationality. 
Note 28. During this period, national spirit and ambition 
were extinct and the throne of Egypt or of some part of 
Egypt was a prize which might be captured by any bold 
and unscrupulous adventurer. .Many of these usurping 
kings were, however, able and energetic, and all of them 
upheld Egyptian traditions as they understood them. 

(2). Subdivisions of this Period. 

a^ The period when the dominion of Egypt was disputed 
between the Priests of Thebes and the kings who 
reigned in the Delta, 1100 B. C— 900 B. C. 
b^ The period when Egypt was ruled by kings of Libyan 
origin, supported by mercenary soldiers of Libya, 
900 B. C— 700 B. C. 
Note 29. In this period the Assyrian conquests in Syria 
began. 
c^ The period when Egypt was united with Ethiopia 
under kings of Ethiopian*origin, 700 B. C, — 650 B. C. 
Note 30. This was a period of constant conflict between 
Egypt and Assyria, to the disadvantage of Egypt. In 
this period, the Assyrians invaded Egypt; sacked Mem- 
phis (666 B. C), and Thebes (661 B. C); expelled the 
Ethiopians, and gave the throne to a native Egyptian ad- 
venturer, as an Assyrian vassal. 



Outline Study of Ancient History IS 

d^ The Period of Restoration, 650 B. C— 525 B. C. 
Note 31. This period witnessed the breaking up of the As- 
syrian empire, followed by a shadowy restoration of the 
Egyptian empire. In this period, the G-reeks established 
themselves in Egypt as soldiers and merchants, thus 
forming a connection between Egyptian and Greek civili- 
zation. 

. subseque:n^t history of egypt. 

(1). Dated Events. 

(a). Egypt conquered and made a Persian province by the 
Persian Emperor, CAMBYSBS, B. C. 525. 

(b). Successful revolt aided by the Greeks, B. C. 399-378. 

(c). Egypt a Persian province, 378 B. C— 332 B. C. 

(d). Conquered by the Greeks under Alexander the Great 
a^ Alexandria founded, B. C. 382. 

(e). Egypt an independent kingdom under the Greek 
dynasty of the PTOLEMIES. The dynasty began 
with Ptolemy Soter, one of the generals of Alexander 
(B. C. 323), and ends with the famous Queen Cleopatra 
(B. C. 30). 

(f). Became a Roman province, B. C. 30. 

Egyptian Culture. 

a. Egyptian Religion. 

(1). The Gods. 
Note 32. The religion of the primitive Egyptians was a 
worship of the creative and reproductive powers of na- 
ture. Each province had its own form of worship, evolv- 
ing, in time, from symbol and ritual, a distinct local god 
for each province. The divinities so worshipped were 
literally innumerable; those noticed below are most 
frequently mentioned in the inscriptions, 
(a). Gods universally worshipped. 

a^ RA, the Sun God, the special guardian of the king. 
b^ AMON, the God of Thebes,identified with Ba, by the 

Theban emperors. 
c*. OSIRIS, with his consort ISIS, and their son HORUS. 



14 Ancient History 

Note 33. The mythical story of OSIRIS was regarded as 
emblematic of the struggle between life and death in the 
physical world, and between good and evil in the spirit- 
ual world, 
(b). Gods which received special honors in certain prov- 
inces, although their divinity was universally recognized, 
a^? PTAH, the craftsman's god of Memphis, 
b*. HATHOR, the goddess of Denderah. 
c'. NEITH, the goddess of Sais. 
d^ SEBEK, the crocodile god of the Fayum. 
(2). The Future Life. 

Note 34. The Egyptians believed in a world of the dead 
where the souls of men were rewarded or punished as 
they deserved; but they also believed that these souls 
would or could revisit the places where each had lived 
as a mortal; and, in order that the returning soul might 
find familiar surroundings, including the semblance of 
its own mortal being, the bodies of kings and of those 
who could afford the expense were thoroughly embalmed 
and deposited in a tomb, designed to endure for all eter- 
nity. The chambers of this tomb were painted with 
scenes illustrating the life of the deceased. 
b. General Culture. 
(1). Science. 

(a). Astronomy, 
Note 35. The Egyptians possessed knowledge of the move- 
ments of the planets and of the moon, of the apparent 
motion of the sun, and of cycles of time. 

(b). Geometry. (All the principles applicable to architec- 
ture and land measuring). 
(c). Chemistry. 
Note 36. The word itself is Egyptian. Egyptians discov- 
ered all that was known of the science in the ancient 
world. This knowledge they applied chiefly to metal- 
lurgy, 
(d). Physics. 



Outline Study of Ancient History 15 

Note 37. The Egyptians were ignorant of many of the sim- 
plest principles of mechanics. They moved vast weights, 
but only by the unsparing use of human strength, 
(e). Medicine and Surgery. 

Note 38. Practically all the knowledge of the Greeks in 
these sciences was derived from the Egyptians ; and the 
Greek medical writers were standard authorities until 
very recent times. 

(2). Art. 
(a). Architecture. 

Note 39. Of all the arts this was the most valued. All the 
principles of architecture known to the ancient world 
were practiced. Egyptian architecture is characterized 
by massive dignity. The pyramids are the most stupen- 
dous, and the temples of Thebes are the most magnificent 
structures ever built by man. 
(b). Painting and Sculpture. 

Note 40. Painting and sculpture were subservient to temple 
and tomb building, and were, consequently, fettered by 
regulations imposed by religion. The Egyptians excelled 
in portrait sculpture and in the mixing of strong and 
stable pigments, 
(c). Industrial Arts. 

Note 41. The Egyptians were most skillful weavers; no bet- 
ter linen cloth has ever been produced than that made 
by them. Pottery, tools, metal work, — solid and practi- 
cal, but not equal to Greek work in form and finish, — 
were produced in great abundance. 

(3). Literature, 
(a). The Egyptian System of Writing, 
a^. HIEROGLYPHICS. 

Note 42. The earliest form of picture writing developed 
into a conventional system of pictures representing ideas. 
In rapid writing, these pictures were simplified to mere 
marks to which other characters, representing syllables, 
were added, making the systeni extremely cumbersome 
and complex. 



16 Ancient History 

b^. PAPYRUS. 

Note 43. The Papyrus, a giant water plant, furnished the 
Egyptians with a substitute for the modern writing 
paper. The stem of this plant was split into strips and 
these strips were laid side by side, to the desired width, 
and covered with paste; then another layer of similar 
strips was laid transversely across the first one, and the 
whole pressed, while moist, into one sheet. 

(b). Literary Productions. 

a\ Inscriptions on Tombs and Obelisks. 
Note 44. These, although grandiose and stilted, are simple 
and to the point. 

hK THE BOOK OF THE DEAD. 

Note 45. The BOOK OF THE DEAD consists of a collection 
of magical prayers and formulas for the use of the dis- 
embodied spirit. Copies of this book were found with 
mummies in the tombs. • 

c^ Hymns in praise of the Gods and of the King. 
d\ Prophecies and gnomic Proverbs. 
e\ Fiction. 

Note 46. This department of literature was highly devel- 
oped. Egyptian Folk Tales were so generally known 
that the Greeks thought them national history. Ficti- 
tious voyages and marvels of distant lands were a favorite 
form of fiction. 

6* Cities and Monuments. 

a. In Lower Egypt. 

Note 47. The shifting channels of the Nile have irrecovera- 
bly buried the oldest monuments in the Delta. Below 
Cairo, existing monuments date only from the later peri- 
ods of Egyptian history. 



Outline Study of Ancient History 17 

Note 48. In the tables given below, modern names of places 
are in italics. 



PLACE. 



Alexandria 

Sais 

Iseum 

Tanis 

Bubastis 

On or 
Heliopolis 

Cairo 
Gizeh 



The Pyramids. 



GEOeRAPHICAL 
LOCATION. 



On the coast, near the 
Rosetta mouth of 
the Nile. 

On the Rosetta branch 
of the Nile. 

Near the DamiettS, 
branch of the Nile. 

East of the Damietta 
mouth of the Nile. 

Near the Damietta 
branch. 

Eastern bank of the 
Nile, near the point 
of the Delta. 

One mile east of the 
Nile— a short dis- 
tance above the 
point of the Delta. 

Western bank of the 
Nile, three miles 
southwest of Cairo. 



South of Gizeh; for 
several miles along 
the edge of the 
desert— the ceme- 
tery of Memphis. 



HISTORY AND EXISTING 
MONUMENTS. 



City dates only from the 
period of Greek domin- 
ion in Egypt; no monu- 
ments of importance. 

Ruins of the temple of 
the goddess Neith. 

Ruins of a large temple 
of Isis. 

Temple and fallen obe- 
lisks. 

Lofty mounds; ruins of 
a great temple. 

Standing obelisk, 70 ft. 
high. 

The capital of modern 
Egypt. 



Museum of Egyptian an- 
tiquities, including the 
mummies of many of 
the most famous rulers 
of Egypt in the Impe- 
rial Period. 

The three Great Pyra- 
mids builtby the kings 
of what is known as 
the 4th Dynasty,before 
2500 B. C. The largest 
was the tomb of King 
Khuf u (C/ieops); there 
are six others only 
slightly smaller than 
these, and many others 
of inferior size. Near 
by is the Sphinx — a 
huge man-headed lion 
carved from the solid 
rock. 



18 



Ancient History 





GEOGRAPHICAL 


HISTORY AND EXISTING 




LOCATION. 


MONUMENTS. 


Memphis 


West bank of the 


The northern capital of 




Nile, ten miles 


ancient Egypt. The 




above Cairo. 


only monuments are 
two colossal statues of 
Rameses II., marking 
the site of the temple 
of rtah, the special 
god of the city. 



b. In Upper Egypt. 



The Fayum 



Beni HaMsan 



Tel el Amarna 



Assiut 



Thinis or 
Abydos 



Fifty miles southwest 
of Cairo. 



East bank of the Nile. 



East bank of the Nile, 
\^'fifty miles below 
' Assiut. 

West of the Nile. 



Border of the desert 
west of the Nile, 
fifty miles above 
Assiut. 



See II, 1, h. It contains 
the Labyrinth^ monu- 
ments, and ruins of 
the city of Arsinoe, 
famous in later times 
for the worship of 
Sebekt the crocodile 
god. 

Interesting private tombs 
of the Middle King- 
dom, containing paint- 
ings illustrative of 
Egyptian life. 

The site of the capital of 
Amenhotep IV. ; inter- 
esting tombs of that 
period. 

Modern capital of Upper 
Egypt, the ancient 
city of S.-iut or Lyco- 
polis. No remains of 
importance. 

Earliest capital of all 
Egypt; seat of the 
worshfp of Osiris. Ru- 
ins of the temple of 
Osi7'is and many tombs 
which have yielded 
most valuable histori- 
cal material. 



Outline Study of Ancient History 



19 



PLACE. 



Dunderah 



Tbebei 



GEOGRAPHICAL 
LOCATION. 



South of the Nile, 
forty miles east of 
Abydos. 



Ruins on both sides of 
the Nile at Lat. 25« 
38'. 



HISTORY AND EXISTING 
MONUMENTS. 



The ancient Tentyra. It 
contains a temple of 
Haihor (identified by 
the Greeks with Ve- 
nus). 

The ancient capital of 
Upper Egypt and of 
all Egypt at the height 
of her glory under the 
Empire. Remains of 
two splendid temples 
of Amon-Ray marked 
respectively by the 
modern villages of 
Karnak and El- UksuVy 
east of the Nile. The 
walls of these temples 
were covered with 
paintings illustrating 
the history of the Em- 
pire. West of the Nile 
are two colossal stat- 
ues of King Amenho- 
tep III., one of which 
was famed among the 
Greeks and Romans as 
the ^* vocal Memnon''\ 
Among the crags of 
the western desert are 
tombs of the kings, 
with walls painted 
with scenes illustrative 
of Egyptian history 
and ideas. 



20 Ancient History 

m. ASSYRIAN AND BABYLONIAN HISTORY. 

K Geography of the Region* 

a. Valley of the Euphrates and the Tigris Rivers. 

Note 49. The river EUPHRATES rises on the north side 
the river TIGRIS on the south side of MT. TAURUS, a 
range of mountains extending to the westward from 
LAKE VAN, into Asia Minor. The Tigris flows directly 
southeast to the Persian Gulf; the Euphrates makes a 
wide sweep to the west; therefore, when the latter begins 
to flow towards the Persian Gulf, it is distant from the 
Tigris about two hundred miles. It gradually draws 
nearer the Tigris until, at latitude thirty-five degrees 
north, the two rivers are separated only by a distance of 
about thirty miles. After flowing parallel with the 
Tigris for some distance, the Euphrates again sweeps olf 
to the west, pursuing its course to the Persian Gulf, 
which, in the earliest period of Babylonian history (eight 
thousand years ago), extended inland about one hundred 
and thirty miles further than at the present day. 
The region between the rivers, above the point of nearest 
approach, is known in ancient history as MESOPOTA- 
MIA; below that point, the region is known as BABY- 
LONIA or CHALDAEA. In the very earliest times, the 
northern part of Babylonia, where the rivers are nearest 
each other, was known as AKKAD; the southern part, 
towards the Persian Gulf, as SHUMER or SUMER; the 
upper Tigris valley, on the eastern side, was the original 
ASSYRIA. 

b. ELAM. The mountain region east of the Tigris River 

adjoining Babylonia. 

c. IRANIAN PLATEAU. 
(1). MEDES. 

(2). PERSIANS. 

Note 50. Beyond the mountains, far to the east, lay the Ira- 
nian Plateau, in the northern part of which was the 
home of the Medes ; in the southern part, the Persians. 



Outline Study of Ancient History 21 

d. Conntry of the NAIRI. {South of Mt. Taurus and Lake 

Van), 

e. URUATU or ARARAT. {North of Lake Van). 

f . Country of the HITTITES, PHRYGIANS, and LYDIANS. 
Note 51. To the west, on the upper Euphrates, lived the 

KB. ATTI {Hittites) ; beyond them, in Asia Minor, the 
Assyrian Empire found the PHRYGIANS and the 
LYDIANS. 

g. KILIKIA or CILICIA. {The region around the northeast 

corner of the Mediterranean'Sea). 
h. THE ARABIAN DESERT, PHOENICIA, PALESTINE. 

Note 52. To the westward of Babylonia and Mesopotamia 
stretched the ARABIAN DESERT, crossed by several 
roads which led to Syria. The coast of Syria, separated 
from the interior by the river Orontes and by Mount 
Lebanon, was known as PHOENICIA ; the southwest 
corner of Syria was PALESTINE, along the coast of 
which ran the road across the desert to Egypt. 

Note 53. Influence of the Geographical Position upon the 
History of Assyria and Babylonia. — Babylonia is an allu- 
vial plain, possessing a rich soil, a warm climate, and 
slight rainfall. The two rivers, fed by mountain snows, 
each has a flood season like the Nile. The flood of the 
Tigris is in early Spring, that of the Euphrates in late 
Spring and early Summer. It was easy for the early in- 
habitants of this region to connect the rivers by canals 
which gave the entire region the advantage of both 
floods and carried off all surplus water. Consequently, 
agriculture was an early and permanent source of wealth. 
Unlike Egypt, Babylonia was open on all sides; there- 
fore, its history is not that of one people peacefully de- 
veloping through the ages, but of successive waves of 
conquest, the older inhabitants deriving renewed energy 
from the invaders and imparting to the newcomers the 
benefits of civilization. The rivers, the Persian Gulf, 
and the caravan roads carried in all directions, the sur- 



22 Ancient History 

plus products of Babylonia, and with them, the ideas of 
Babylonian civilization. 

2. Ethnology. 

a. Assyrians, {Inhabitants of Mesopotamia and Syria ; Semitic 

branch of the Caucasian Bace). 

b. Babylonians. 

Note 54. The inhabitants of Babylonia included at least two 
elements, probably not Semitic^ possibly not belonging 
to the Caucasian race. These were the Sumerians^ the 
early population of southern Babylonia, among whom 
the Babylonian civilization must have originated, and 
the Kassites, conquering immigrants from Elam. The 
question of the racial origin of the Kassites extends to 
all the inhabitants of Elam. 

c. The Peoples of the North — Nairiy Uruatu, Khatti— {Prob- 

ably of mixed Semitic and Aryan elements). 

d. The Medes and Persians. {Aryans). 

Note 55. In all historic time before 500 B. C, however, 
Semitic language, character, and habits of thought were 
predominant in all the lands which were included in the 
Assyrian and Babylonian empires. 

3. The Early Hfatofy of Babylonia. 

Note 56. Chronology. — The later Babylonians used an era 
for the measurement of time easily adjustible with the 
era now in use. The Assyrians kept a list of annually 
appointed ofl&cers which has been preserved and con- 
nected with our era by astronomical calculation, fixing 
dates to about 900 B. C. Beyond this point, lists of early 
Babylonian kings, with the length of their respective 
reigns, although incomplete, afford some basis for chro- 
nology up to 2500 B. C. Earlier than this, dates are 
merely conjectural. 

Note 57. Sources. — The only authentic source of historical 
information before 500 B. C. is the contemporary record, 
consisting mainly of inscriptions set up by kings in tem- 



Outline Study of Ancient History 



23 



pies and palaces, commemorating the principal events of 
their reigns. The information derived from this source 
is necessarily fragmentary and partial. It is supple- 
mented, to a very small extent, by notices of Babylonian 
and Assyrian affairs, in Greek and Hebrew literature. 
a. History of Shumer and Akkad. 
(1), Character of the Country. 

Note. 58. Historic record in the region known in later times 
as Babylonia or Chaldea is dated by archaeologists before 
5000 B. C; but, at this early period, the names Babylo- 
nia and Chaldea were unknown. Inscriptions speak of 
the «^two lands ", Shumer and Akkad; but these lands 
were not, strictly speaking, nations. The people lived 
in brick walled cities, each city being a sovereign state, 
containing a huge brick temple of the local god, brick 
palaces for the King and his noblemen, and thatched 
mud huts for the common people who cultivated the 
surrounding fields. 
(1). Most Important Cities, 
(a). Shumerian— ^ridM, Erech, Ur, Larsam, Shiputla, 
(b). Akkadian— iTM^/ia, Sippar, Agade, Kish. 
(c). Nippur. 
Note 59. Nippur, between the two groups of cities, was the 
great religious sanctuary of the time. 

(2). Civilization. 

Note 60. The civilization of this people was already old 
when the historic record begins. They were merchants, 
trading by sea and land; their cities were rich and luxu- 
rious; intrigue and wars for supremacy were frequent 
among the cities ; and often several, and sometimes all, 
of the cities were united under one overlord. 

(3). Fate of Shumer and Akkad. 

Note 61. After ages of such existence, this little civilized 
world was overwhelmed by the barbarians of Elam— 
about 2400 B. C. 



24 Ancient History 

(4). Rulers. 

Note 62. The only names of importance in this period are 
Sargon and his son, Naram Sin, who extended their con- 
quests to the Mediterranean Sea. 

b. The Early Babylonian Empire. 
(1). Political History. 

Note 63. The old cities of Shumer find Akkad never recov- 
ered their political importance, although several of them 
continued to be commercial and religious centers. About 
2300 B. C, the kings of Babylon, a city unknown in the 
earlier period, expelled the Elamites from the land and 
made it one kingdom. Gradually, the people became 
accustomed to regarding themselves as subjects of one 
sovereign. Soon after 2000, B. C, another race of bar- 
barians from the eastern mountains invaded Babylonia 
and made themselves masters of the country so com- 
pletely that the land became known to foreigners by the 
name of the invaders, Kashshu or Kassi. These people 
soon adopted the Babylonian civilization, and Kassiie 
kings ruled Babylonia for nearly a thousand years. 

Under the sway of the Babylonian kings, which cov- 
ered a period of about three hundred years, the system 
of canals, connecting the two rivers, was developed, and 
the entire land brought under cultivation. 

c. The Assyrian Empire. 

(1). Origin and Character of the Assyrians. 

Note 64. The ASSYRIANS were a Semitic people on the 
upper Tigris. At a very early period they had adopted 
the religion of Babylonia and much of its civilization. 
The city Assur on the west bank of the river, about half 
way between the modern cities of Bagdad and Mosul, 
was ruled by Assyrian vassals of the Babylonian kings, 
and served as a meeting point for the two peoples. When 
Babylonia was overrun by the Kassites, the Assyrian 
kings declared themselves independent, and, emboldened 
by success, claimed to be the rightful successors of the 



Outline Study of Ancient History 25 

Babylonian kings. This claim brought them into con- 
flict with all the surrounding peoples, including the 
Kassite kings of Babylon. Consequently, the Assyrian 
Empire, unlike the Egyptian and Babylonian empires, 
was a military organization from its birth. 

^2). Neighboring Peoples — Phoenicians^ Aramaeans, He" 
brews^ etc. 
(a). Political History. 

JNote 65. For nearly a thousand years, the Assyrian and 
Kassite-Babylonian powers balanced each other, neither 
power being free to attempt distant foreign conquest. 
During this period, the region between the Euphrates 
and the Mediterranean was dominated successively by 
the mysterious Hyksos, the native Egyptian Empire^ and 
the Khatti or Hittite Empire. This fact had an impor- 
tant bearing on the future history of civilization, for 
neither of these powers was sufficiently well organized 
to crush the national spirit of the vigorous new peoples 
who, at this period, were effecting settlement in Syria 
and Mesopotamia. These peoples, thus left free to de- 
velop their own ideals, the Phoenicians, Aramaeans, Re- 
brews, etc., as well as the older inhabitants of the region, 
were Semites, with all the depth of thought and com- 
mercial instinct characteristic of their race. Dealing 
with Egyptians, Babylonians, and Assyrians in diplo- 
macy and commerce, they adapted what was adaptable 
in the exclusively national cultures of these old nations, 
and wrought out of this a cosmopolitan civilization, the 
advantages of which were so apparent that it spread 
along the trade routes in central Asia, North Africa, and 
Southern Europe. 

(b). Civilization. 

Note Q6. The conditions above outlined favored the devel- 
opment of 

a^ A phonetic alphabet which could be adapted to the 
sounds of any language. 



26 Ancient History 

b^ Common or comparable standards of value. 

c\ A system of international law or ordinary procedure 
defining the rights and duties of merchants and 
ambassadors. 

d*. A religious conception much broader than the primi- 
tive idea of tribal gods and involving the germs of 
the ideas of common humanity and moral obliga- 
tion. 

(3). Political History of the ASSYRIAN EMPIRE. 

Note 67. After 1000 B. C, political anarchy in Babylonia 
enabled the Assyrians to acquire possession of that re- 
gion and to enter on that career of conquest for which 
they were so well fitted by their military habits and 
organization, 
(a). First Period, 950 B. C— 750 B. C. 

a'. Events — Conquest of Mesopotamia and northern 

Syria, 
b^ Seat of Government at Kalkhi^ on the upper Tigris, 
(b). Second Period, 750 B. C— 650 B. C. 

a^ Events — Conquest of southern Syria and Palestine; 

conquests in the north and northeast. 
b^ Seat of Government at Nineveh and Dur Sharrukin. 
c\ Famous Kings — Tiglath Pilesur III ; Shalmansser 
IV. {the conqueror of Israel, 722 B. C,); Sargon ; 
Sennacherib. 
(c). Third Period, 650 B. C— 600 B. C. 

a^ Events — Conquest of Egypt; decay and fall of the 

b^ Seat of Government — at Nineveh. ; ' j* j 

c'. Famous Kings — Ashurbanipal (Sardanaji'alus), long ^\^ 
the type in Eastern story of imperial grandeur and 
luxury, 
(d). Decay and Fall of the Assyrian Empire. 

Note 68. The Assyrian Empire was, for its subject peoples 
a cold and heartless military tyranny. It was charac- 
terized by savage rebellions and cruel reconquests, with 



Outline Study of Ancient History 27 

the result that, in regions where the Assyrian power 
endured for any length of time, all spirit and vigor were 
crushed out of the population. Its decline was due to 
the exhaustion of the native Assyrian stock in constant 
and often distant warfare and by the sudden emergence 
of new barbarian peoples of Aryan race. The immediate 
cause of the collapse of Assyrian power was a success- 
ful national rebellion in Babylonia in alliance with the 
Aryan Medes of the northeast. This coalition invaded 
Assyria proper from two sidesj-and the Assyrian Empire 
fell with the capture of Nineveh^ about 600 B. C. 
d. The Later Babylonian Empire. 

(1). Political History, 
(a). Rise of the Kingdom. 

Note 69. The Assyrian emperors respected Babylonia as the 
birthplace of their religion and civilization, hence it was 
the only province of their dominions where national 
ideas and aspirations were permitted to the native popu- 
lation. Rebellion against Assyrian power was often 
quelled by giving the Babylonians a governor or vassal 
king of their own race. About 625 B. C, one of these 
governors, Nabopolassar^ made common cause with his 
rebellious fellow-countrymen and proclaimed himself 
King of Babylon. King Nabopolassar allied himself 
with the Medes, an Aryan nation of the Iranian Plateau, 
never fully subdued by the Assyrians, and also with 
Egypt, where a native vassal king had become indepen- 
dent. While the Egyptians invaded Syria, Ndbopolassar 
and the Median king marched directly on the Assyrian 
capital and captured it. All that survived of Assyrian 
power and organization naturally attached itself to the 
Babylonian kingdom, 
(b). Extension of the Kingdom. 

Note 70. The son and successor of Nebopolassar, Nebuchad- 
nezzar, drove the Egyptians out of Syria, added Pales- 
tine to his dominions, and ruled in Babylon with all 
the pomp and majesty of the Assyrian emperors. 



28 Ancient History 

(c). Fall of the Kingdom. 

Note 71. After the death of Nebuchadnezzar^ however, the 
Babylonian kingdom fell into anarchy and became an 
easy prey to the coalition of the Aryans of Iran, under 
the leadership of Cyrus^ King of the Persians. 

(2). Babylonian Civilization. 

(a). Agriculture and commerce the basis of Babylonian 
civilization. « 

(b). Personal ownership of land the basis of the Baby- 
lonian economic system. 

(c). Commercial enterprises of all kinds were protected 
and encouraged. 

Note 72. Among the countless documents of baked clay 
which have been unearthed from the ruins of the cities 
of Babylonia are found commercial records of all kinds; 
— agreements, promissory notes, mortgages, court 
records of civil suits, etc., indicating that business in 
Babylonia was conducted on a scale as extensive and 
under a system as well organized as any known to the 
modern world before the middle of the 19th century. 

(d). Law. 

Note 73. The laws of the early Babylonian king.KhammurakU 
of which a practically complete code exists, include 
many of the most serious problems which confront the 
modern legislatures. 

Note 74. Among the Assyrians, war was considered a more 
honorable employment than commerce or agriculture. 
In early times the land was cultivated only in the inter- 
vals of plundering raids. Under the empire, slaves 
tilled the land; while the spoil brought home by the 
armies attracted merchants to Nineveh and the other 
Assyrian capitals. 

(e). The Arts. 

a\ Architecture. 



Outline Study of Ancient History 29 

Note 75. Practically all the principles applicable to brick 
construction were known to the earliest inhabitants 
of Shemur and Akkad. At Babylonia, stone for 
building could not be obtained and brick was used 
instead. Architectural remains are, for the most part, 
those of Gity walls and temples. The latter were built 
on platforms of solid brickwork, from twenty to forty 
feet high; on this platform was built the temple, a col- 
lection of one-storied buildings connected by galleries; 
the roofs were supported by tree trunks encased with 
tilework, painted or enameled.' In one corner of the 
platform was erected the tower, or ziggarat, a series of 
solid brick platforms, one on top of another, to the 
number of five or six; each platform being a little 
smaller than the one below it. The shrines of the prin- 
cipal god of the temple were at the top of the tower. 

Both the Assyrians and Babylonians made extensive 
use of bitumen (deposits of which occur in several 
places in Babylonia), as a cement for brick and stone 
work. 

b^ Sculpture. 

Note 76. The Assyrians excelled in sculpture. Their work 
in colored basrelief, though not to be compared with the 
masterpieces of Egyptian art, are effective and most 
skillfully executed. Wars and hunting scenes were most 
often portrayed. The gigantic figures of mythological 
beings which stood guard at the entrances of palaces 
and temples are imposing and never grotesque. 
c^ Gem Cutting and Jewel Work. {Carried to perfec- 
tion). 
d^ Pottery {equal to Greek work). 
e^ Glass and Porcelain were manufactured, 
f ^ Textile Fabrics. 

Note 77. The textile fabrics of Babylonia, carpets and rich 
garments, were famous from the earliest times down to * 
the last days of the Roman Empire, 
(f). Language and Literature. 



30 Ancient History 

Note 78. The ordinary Assyrian or Babylonian language 
was restored to human knowledge about the middle of 
the 19th century by means of inscriptions of the early 
Persian kings, in which the Assyrian text is accompanied 
by a translation in Persian. 

a^ Character of the Language. 

Note 79. The language is a variety of the Semitic speech, 
closely akin to the Hebrew. Between Assyria and Baby- 
lonia there were slight differences of dialect ; but there 
is evidence of the existence in Babylonia of another 
language used by priests and other men of superior 
learning. By some archaeologists, this is supposed to 
have been the language of the non-Semitic predecessors 
of the historic Bablyonians, the so-called Sumerians. 

b^ The Character of Babylonian Writing. 

Note 80. Babylonian writing consists of v-shaped figures 
and elongated triangles, upright or horizontal, used 
singly or in groups. Some of these marks or groups of 
marks represent complete ideas, others represent sylla- 
bles, and still others are used arbitrarily for words. The 
system is confused and complicated ; the meaning of the 
text is often uncertain; and the pronunciation can only 
be guessed at. 

Much of the Babylonian writing is as fine and compact 
as our ordinary book print. The use of the magnifying 
glass in writing and reading seems to have been known, 
c^ Writing Materials. 

Note 81. The earliest Babylonian texts were inscribed on 
moist clay which was afterward baked into brick. This 
form of writing was long in general use ; but the art of 
carving inscriptions in stone was used in the early Baby- 
lonian empire, and was highly developed by the Assyri- 
ans. Parchment and papyrus paper, imported from 
Egypt, were used to some extent in later times. 

d^ Knowledge of letters. 



Outline Study of Ancient History 31 

Note 82. The vast number of letters and records of business 
transactions which exist show that knowledge of letters 
was common among all classes. 

e^ Literary Style. 

Note 83. Babylonian and Assyrian style and method were 
sacrificed to brevity. Stereotyped expressions were used, 
wherever possible, to save labor in reading, 
f^ Character of the Literature. 

Note 84. Religion colored all Babylonian and Assyrian liter- 
ature. Of the writings of the early Babylonians, we 
have hymns and other lyric poetry^ liturgical formulas^ 
and mythological legends^ one of which, the story of 
Gilgamesh is an Epic in twelve books. Later appear 
astronomical treatises and codes of law, of which the 
Code of Kammurabi.of Babylon, 2250 B. C, is the most 
complete. The inscriptions of the Assyrian kings, most 
valuable to the historians, are simple and straightfor- 
ward statements of fact inspired by true historical sense 
for relevant detail. Fiction, in the form of mythological 
stories, continued to be cultivated in the Assyrian peri- 
od. The later Babylonians contented themselves with 
re-editing and classifying the literature of the past. 

g^ Influence of Babylonian Literature. 

Note 85. Under royal patronage, extensive libraries were 
formed, doubtless by colleges of priestly teachers and 
scientists. The fame of Babylonian learning spread 
widely, and travellers took advantage of the accessibility 
of the Babylonian cities by the routes of commerce to 
obtain positive knowledge on subjects which were mat- 
ters of speculation, merely, in other lands. The influ- 
ence of the schools of Babylonia can be traced through 
Greek and Hebrew literature to the thought and expres- 
sion of the modern world. 

(g). Science, 
a'. Astronomy. 



32 Ancient History 

Note 86. Astronomy was most assiduously cultivated. 
Mathematical Astronomy originated in Babylonia. The 
" Signs of the Zodiac " are Babylonian, and, also, the 
week of seven days, with the seventh-day rest. The 
Babylonians and Assyrians first mapped the heavens, 
named the planets, and roughly calculated eclipses. 
These astronomical observations were made chiefly for 
astrological purposes, and all the underlying ideas and 
the phraseology of Astrology are Babylonian. 

bK Mathematics in General. 

Note 87. Astronomical calculations imply a working knowl- 
edge of the principles of mathematics. The Babylonians 
used the number aixty as a numerical unit; hence, from 
their calculations we derive our sixty viinutes, sixty sec- 
onds, and the three hundred and sixty degrees of the 
circle. 

c\ Necromancy. 

Note 88. A science much cultivated in Babylonia was Necro- 
mancy^ dealing with spirits and with the dead. In this 
connection, as in connection with Astrology, Babylonian 
ideas still survive. 

(h). Religion. 

Note 89. The religion of the earliest inhabitants of Shumer 
and Akkad seems to have been a system of propitiation 
of spirits, chiefly evil, whose action was supposed to 
originate all the phenomena of nature. This has always 
been characteristic of the yellow or Mongolian race, and 
has led many archaeologists to regard these primitive 
Babylonians as belonging to that race. 

On this primitive belief, the Semites engrafted their 
worship of deified jjowers of nature. As usual, this de- 
veloped, with the advance of civilization, into sun wor- 
ship, and, under the Assyrian and later Babylonian em- 
pires, into identification of the Sun God with the king 
or with the guardian spirit of the city or nation. 



Outline Study of Ancient History 33 

The Sun God was called Bel by the Semitic Babylonians 
and Assyrians; identified with him was the God of 
the City of Babylon and the guardian spirit of Babylonian 
civilization generally. Nergal, the Assyrian god of 
war and hunting, who is represented by the colossal 
lion-headed figures guarding the entrance to temples and 
palaces, and Ishtar (the planet Venus as the Evening 
Star), the Spirit of Bejined Enjoyment » were the gods 
whose worship was the most ^prominent in the official 
religion. 

The popular religion, a survival of the old ideas of 
Shumer and Akkad, recognized numberless gods - and 
spiritual beings whose deeds and attributes were the 
theme of a vast and varied mythology. The position of 
Babylonia as an educational center made this mythology 
universally familiar ; its influence is apparent in the Old 
Testament, and, at second or third hand, it affected the 
ideas of the distant Greeks. 

(i). The Art of War. 

Note 90. The Assyrians were the first people to make war 
an art ; their armies were the best in the world prior to 
the development of the Greek phalanx. They first re- 
placed chariots by well-armed cavalry and learned how 
to defend a frontier by means of an army operating in 
the field instead of in detached garrisons. They were 
the first to take walled cities by means of the battering 
ram. 



IV- THE HISTORY OF HEBREW 
aVILIZATION- 

U The Hebrew Race. 

Note 91. The name " Hebrew " means ♦* Those from beyond,^^ 
and has always been explained as relating to a migration 
across the Euphrates, out of Mesopotamia. 



34 Ancient History 

a. Divisions of the Hebrew Race. 
(1). The People Israel. 

(2). The Peoples of Ammon and Moab, east of the Dead Sea. 
(3). The Peoples of Edom, south of the Dead Sea. 
(4). Several wandering tribes of the Arabian and Sinaitic 
Deserts. 

b. Racial Characteristics. 

Note 92. The Hebrews were pastoral nomads and had noth- 
ing in common with the Canaanites, the city dwellers of 
southwestern Syria whom they regarded as of alien race. 

c. The People Israel. 

(1). Their Settlement in Egypt. 

Note 93. This probably took place about 1600 B. C, while 
Egypt was under the dominion of the Asiatic Hyksos 
Kings. 
(2). The Exodus. 

Note 94. It was probably the ideas of social and religious 
order and of military organization, derived from Egypt, 
that made the Israelites on their return to the desert 
superior to their nomad kindred. With this '* exodus" 
from Egypt and the subsequent wandering in the wilder- 
ness is associated the name of Moses, the great hero and 
lawgiver of the race. 
(3). The Conquest of Canaan, 
(a). Canaan (Palestine) was, in the 13th century B. C, 
covered with walled cities, each of which was a 
petty kingdom in nominal vassalage to the kings 
of Egypt. 
(b). Desert raiders, known to the Egyptians as Khabiri 
(probably including the Hebrews) troubled these 
cities throughout the 13th century B. C. 
(c). According to the Egyptian records, Israel formed 

settlements in Canaan, about 1200 B. C. 
(d). In the 11th century, Israel became the dominant 
power in Canaan; destroyed many of the Canaan- 
itish cities ; made other cities tributary. 



Outline Study of Ancient History 35 

(4). The Religion of Israel. 

Note 95. While other nations worshipped many gods whom 
they regarded as personifications of the powers of na- 
ture, the Hebrews fixed their faith upon one God, the 
Creator and Preserver of the universe, who was exalted 
above nature, and who could not be represented by any 
material image. This God delivered his worshippers 
from Egyptian bondage and from the perils of the wil- 
derness. His Ark — the Ark^of the Covenant — was the 
only bond of union among the pastoral clans, which, at 
this period, were the political units of Israel. 

(5). The Philistines. 
(a). Their Character and Origin. 

Note 96. The Philistines were sea pirates from the northern 
shores of the Mediterranean Sea, who, during the 12th 
century B. C, established themselves on the seacoast of 
Palestine and organized the Canaanite cities of that re- 
gion into a conquering confederacy. 

(b). The Philistine Wars. 

Note 97. The Philistines swept over Palestine, making the 
Canaanite cities tributary and reducing the scattered 
clans of Israel to the condition of serfs. After a century 
of struggle against these conditions, the Israelites suc- 
ceeded in uniting as a nation under an efficient central 
authority, and were then able to face the Philistines in 
battle on equal terms. The Ark of the Covenant was 
the center of this national movement. 

(6). The United Kingdom of Israel. 

(a). King Saul : his wars with the Philistines. 

(b). King David : Philistines beaten and confined to their 
seacoast territory; Jerusalem occupied and made 
the center of the kingdom; dominion of Israel 
extended over other Hebrew tribes (Ammon, 
Moab, etc.)t and over the Syrians as far as Damas- 



86 Ancient History 

cus ; worship of the Lord (as the God of Israel 
was usually named in ordinary speech), established 
at Jerusalem. 
(c). King Solomon: His power and magnificence; his 
alliance with the Phoenicians; his connection 
with Egypt; prosperity of Israel under his reign; 
the Temple of the Lord. 
(7). The Division of the Kingdom. 

Note 98. The centralizing and despotic tendencies of the 
court at Jerusalem were distasteful to the Israelites 
generally. 

(a). Revolt after the death of King Solomon. 

(b). The House of David retains the allegiance only of its 

own tribe, Judah, and of the tribe of Benjamin; 

the other tribes form the Kingdom of Israel, 
(c). Shrines of the Lord established at Bethel and Dan in 

the new Kingdom of Israel. 
(d). Division of the Territory. 

Note 99. The Empire of Solomon had extended from the 
desert of Sinai north to Damascus, and from the Medi- 
terranean coast south of Carmel, east to the Syrian and 
Arabian deserts. After the division, the foreign domin- 
ions fell away, and the Kingdom of Israel included no 
more than the upper Jordan valley, with the coast plains 
of Sharon; while the Kingdom of Judah comprised only 
the mountain region of which Jerusalem was the center. 

(8). The New Kingdom of Israel, 
(a). The Prophets. 
a\ New ideas in Israel consequent on the change from 

pastoral life to town dwelling, 
b^ Israel now exposed to the same influences as other 

civilized and settled Semitic peoples. 
c^ High degree of civilization in western Asia at this 

period (9th and 8th centuries) ; its cosmopolitan 

character. 
d^ Religious ideas. 



Outline Study of Ancient History 3T 

Note 100. The worship of Baal (the productive power of 
nature) and of Ashtoreth (the goddess of refined sensual- 
ity) came to be regarded as the universal religion of civ- 
ilized Semites, and the tribal gods were identified with 
Baal or made subordinate to him. 

This civilization and its religious ideas were ofl&cially 
predominant in both Israelite kingdoms, but especially 
in the Kingdom of Israel^ which adjoined Phoenicia and 
the high road between the Nile and the Euphrates. 

Opposed to the worship oi^Baal was the idea of the 
exclusive and divinely appointed mission of Israel, based 
on the traditions of the perils through which Israel had 
been preserved by the power of the Lord. The Prophets 
were the preachers of this idea. 

e^ King Ahab of Israel : his Phoenician connection and 

his determination to force Phoenician civilization 

and religion on his subjects. 
f^ The Prophet Elijah : his long contest with Ahab. 
g^ The Prophet Misha. 
hK The House of Ahab supplanted in Israel by the 

more strictly national House of Jehu. 
(b). Syrian Wars; triumph and prosperity of Israel, 
(c). The Assyrian Power. 
a^ Growth of the Assyrian power; gradual absorption 

of the Syrian states by the Assyrian Empire. 
b^ The Prophets Amos and Rosea predict the downfall 

of Israel and the survival of the worship of the 

Lord as a universal religion. 
(c). The Kingdom of Israel obliterated by Sargon, King 

of Assyria, 721 B. C. 

(9). The Kingdom of Judah. 

(a). The island-like nature of its geographical position. 

(b). Continuity of national life under the House of David. 

(c). The Great Temple of the Lord, a powerful influence 
against the worship of Baal and Ashtoreth, not- 
withstanding the dereliction of the priesthood. 



38 Ancient History 

( d). The safety of peaceful obscurity preached by the 

prophets in Judah. 
(e). Dangerous ambitions of Kings Ahaz and Hezekiah 

opposed by the Prophet Isaiah. 
(f). The yielding of King Hezekiah to the influence of the 

Prophet Isaiah regarded as the means of averting 

Assyrian conquest from Judah. 
(g). Peace and prosperity of Judah. 
(h). Idolatry again prevalent, after the death of Isaiah, as 

an adjunct to the worship of the Lord, 
a'. The evils of idolatry exposed by the prophet Micah. 
b^ Great reformation under King Josiah ; the laws of 

Israel codified and the worship of the Lord estab- 
lished on a proper basis for all time. 
(10). The Downfall of the Assyrian Empire, 
(a). Syria divided between the Babylonians and the 

Egyptians, 
(b). Foolish attempt of the King of Judah to participate 

in the disputes of these great empires. 
(c). Futile opposition of the prophet Jeremiah to this 

course. 
(d). Capture of Jerusalem by the Babylonians; end of the 

Kingdom of Judah, 586 B. C. 

(11). The Captivity. 

(a). Practically the entire nation of the Judaeans trans- 
ported from Palestine to the vicinity of Babylon. 

(b). Horror and disgust of the Judaeans at the abomina- 
tions practised in the name of religion in Babylon; 
these sentiments symbolized in the story of the 
Prophet Daniel. 

(e). Conquest of Babylon by the Persians. 

Note 101. The Persians and the Judaeans found a bond of 
sympathy in their mutual abhorrence of promiscuous 
idolatry, 
(d). The Judaeans {Jews) permitted to return to Palestine 
and re-establish the worship of the L ord at Jeru- 
salem, 450 B. C. 



Outline Study of Ancient History 39 

(12). The Theocracy. 

Note 102. Palestine had been occupied by a mixed race 
composed of elements from all the Hebrew and Syrian 
peoples of the vicinity. The Jews took exclusive pos- 
session of Jerusalem and its immediate vicinity; refused 
all co-operation with the mixed race about them ; and 
proclaimed their belief that it was their chosen privilege 
and duty to maintain the worship of the true God until 
the coming of a Messiah whg should reduce the whole 
world to obedience. 

(a). Ezra, the lawgiver ; his final codification of the law 
of Israel. 

(b). The schismatic community of the Samaritans found- 
ed in opposition to the community of Jerusalem, 
425 B. C. 

(c). Jewish community protected by the Persian kings 
against all interference; consequent prosperity; 
development of theological controversies. 

(d). Persian Empire overthrown by the Greeks, 332 B. C, 
consequent breaking down of all national barriers 
throughout the East, 
a^ This state of affairs is taken advantage of by the 
Jews to establish themselves in all commercial 
cities as merchants and manufacturers. 

(e). The community of Jerusalem, regarded as their home 
by all Jews wheresoever they dwelt, retained its 
autonomy as a tributary of the Greek kingdom of 
Egypt. 
a\ The Jews specially favored in this kingdom. 
(13). The Termination of Jewish Nationality. 

, (a). Syria and Palestine conquered by the Greek kings 
of Syria, 205 B. C. 
a^ Attempt of these kings to seize the treasure of the 
Temple of Jerusalem and to compel the Jews to 
conform to the ideas of Greek civilization success- 
fully resisted. 



40 Ancient History 

(b). Practical independence of Judaea under the priest- 
kings of the Hasmonean (Maccabean) family. 

(c). Jerusalem taken by the Romans, B. C. 63. 

(d). Judaea bestowed on King Herod as a vassal of the 
Roman Republic, B. C. 37. 

(e). Destruction of Jerusalem, A. D. 70. 

Note 103. After many struggles and vicissitudes under the 
Roman power, a desperate revolt of the Jews resulted in 
the destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman general, 
Titus, A. D. 70, which terminated Jewish nationality. 

(14). Civilization of Israel. 

Note 104. In material civilization, the Israelites seem to 
have been inferior to their Phoenician and Syrian neigh- 
bors on whom they depended for architects and skilled 
workmen of all kinds. There is no indication that the 
arts of painting and sculpture ever existed in Israel. It 
is only by their literary remains that the Israelites are 
known as a civilized nation. 

(a). Hebrew Literature. 

Note 105. The existing Hebrew literature was preserved by 
the Jews as the historical basis of their religious and 
political ideas. The authors of these religious histories 
and controversial works, however, quoted freely from a 
general national literature in prose and poetry, of great 
variety and extent, ranging from the rude war songs of 
desert nomads, through all the phases of racial develop- 
ment, to the cynical philosophy characteristic of a civil- 
ization past maturity. This literature is the most valu- 
able historical record we possess, not only because it 
contains the germs of the modern Jewish. Christian, 
and Mohammedan religious systems, but also as the 
only living memorial of highly developed and wide- 
spread civilization which flourished and decayed before 
the ancestors of the civilized peoples of to-day had ad- 
vanced beyond the condition of primitive barbarism. 



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